Without spoiling the twists and turns in the book, I can say that I enjoyed switching narrative points of view. Throughout, I had to wonder about the reliability of the narrators; adding a sense of urgency to the story. My only complaint is that the book is long--clocking in at 582 pages.

From the publisher:

Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a "baby farmer," who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways...But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.

It's my first by this author, Sarah Waters, and I'm really excited to read more!

I admit I was a little hesitant reading this sequel to The Rosie Project. Some second books aren't as good as the original. But revisiting Don and Rosie was a treat! The characters are more fleshed out and the story continues with very funny unintended and spontaneous reactions to Don's logic. Enjoyable! And it left me wanting more!

From the publisher:

Don Tillman and Rosie Jarman are back. The Wife Project is complete, and Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they’re about to face a new challenge because— surprise!—Rosie is pregnant.

Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he’s left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie.

As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia to reconcile, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business, and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him the most.

I couldn't put this down. Even when I wondered where the author was going to take the story, it was getting a bit repetitious for me, there were twists and turns!

From the publisher:

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

I was afraid this book would be a whine festival with a complaining main character. One of the things I liked about the book is the author's detail of the setting--it's a real feel for Portland, Maine. A quick read. Predictable.

I liked that this book takes a realistic look at education today--how policies are followed, even when teachers know there are other ways of achieving results and the frustration that goes along with that. I liked the "meet cute" of the romance. I liked how the main character was fleshed out. But I didn't like the secondary characters, they were too cliche. And I was slightly disappointed in the Happily Ever After. I guess because the portrayal of the classroom was so spot-on, I expected a more realistic storyline.

From the Publisher:

For every woman who wonders if she chose the right career...

Carolyn Jenkins strives for two things--to be the greatest teacher ever and to find true love. She's as skilled at both as an infant trying to eat with a fork. Carolyn's suburban upbringing and genuine compassion for people who don't fit effortlessly into society are no match for weapon-wielding, struggling students, drug-using colleagues, and a wicked principal.

Meanwhile, her budding relationship with a mystery man is thwarted by his gaggle of eccentric sisters. Carolyn depends on her friends to get her through the hard times, but with poverty-stricken children at her feet and a wealthy man at her side, she must define who she is. The reality of life after college can be daunting, the road to full-fledged adulthood long and unscripted. Can Carolyn take control and craft the existence she always wanted?

This is my book group's February selection. I can't figure out how I feel about it. Actually, that's part of what perplexes me--there was no emotional reaction by characters in this book. Even when the action is emotional. And I can't quite figure out what came between the sisters. I didn't dislike the book. Maybe after we discuss it as a group, it will click for me.

From the publisher:

“My father’s wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us.”

Disappointed by their families, Iris, the hopeful star and Eva the sidekick, journey through 1940s America in search of fame and fortune. Iris’s ambitions take the pair across the America of Reinvention in a stolen station wagon, from small-town Ohio to an unexpected and sensuous Hollywood, and to the jazz clubs and golden mansions of Long Island.

With their friends in high and low places, Iris and Eva stumble and shine though a landscape of big dreams, scandals, betrayals, and war. Filled with gorgeous writing, memorable characters, and surprising events, Lucky Us is a thrilling and resonant novel about success and failure, good luck and bad, the creation of a family, and the pleasures and inevitable perils of family life, conventional and otherwise. From Brooklyn’s beauty parlors to London’s West End, a group of unforgettable people love, lie, cheat and survive in this story of our fragile, absurd, heroic species.

This book is way outside my usual reading genres--it's science fiction, heavy on the science. I'm glad I listened to it because I know I would have gotten lost in the science talk. I know there is soon to be a movie starring Matt Damon, so I pictured him throughout.

From the publisher:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by the ruthless pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot. After using her jade-handled pistols to assassinate his employer, lord of the booming tea trade, she announces to the terrified cook that he will be spared as long as he puts exquisite food in front of her every Sunday without fail.

To appease the red-haired captain, Wedgwood gets cracking with the meager supplies on board—weevil-infested cornmeal, salted meat he suspects was once a horse. His first triumph at sea is actual bread, made from a sourdough starter that Wedgwood leavens in a tin under his shirt throughout a roaring battle, as men are cutlassed all around him. Soon he’s making tea-smoked eel and brewing pineapple wine.

But Mabbot—who exerts a curious draw on the chef—is under siege. Hunted by a deadly privateer, plagued by a saboteur hidden among her devoted crew, and outnumbered in epic clashes with England’s greatest ships of the line, Captain Mabbot pushes her crew past exhaustion in her search for the notorious King of Thieves, the Brass Fox. As Wedgwood begins to sense a method to Mabbot’s madness, he must rely on the bizarre crew members he once feared: Mr. Apples, the fearsome giant who loves to knit; Feng and Bai, martial arts masters sworn to defend their captain; and Joshua, the deaf cabin boy who becomes the son Wedgwood never had.

This third installment in the series does not disappoint. The dialog is fast and funny, the characters are like old friends of mine and I'm looking forward to more stories in the series. I listened to the audio book and LOVE the narrator.

From the publisher:

The FBI had one demand when they secretly teamed up Special Agent Kate O’Hare with charming con man Nicolas Fox—bring down the world’s most-wanted and untouchable felons. This time it’s the brutal leader of a global drug-smuggling empire. The FBI doesn’t know what their target looks like, where he is, or how to find him, but Nick Fox has a few tricks up his sleeve to roust this particular Knipschildt chocolate–loving drug lord.

From the streets of Nashville to the back alleys of Lisbon, from the rooftops of Istanbul to the middle of the Thames, Nick and Kate chase their mark. When they find themselves pitted against a psychopathic bodyguard and a Portuguese enforcer who gets advice from a pickled head, they decide it’s time to enlist some special talent—talent like a machete-wielding Somali pirate, a self-absorbed actor, an Oscar-winning special effects artist, and Kate’s father Jake, a retired Special Forces operative. Together they could help make this Fox and O’Hare’s biggest win yet . . . if they survive.

I am not quite sure what to say about this book. Early on, you find out that Eva, the mother, regularly visits her son, Kevin, in prison--after a school massacre. Although the book builds up to the event, it's not just about Thursday. It's a study of motherhood and an unconventional family dynamic.

From the publisher:

Eva never really wanted to be a mother—and certainly not the mother of a boy who ends up murdering seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin’s horrific rampage, in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails.

This book has been on my To Be Read list for such a long time! Essentially, it's an examination of people who have too much but not enough. Winn Van Meter is a 59-year-old man who has been married for thirty years to Biddy, they have two daughters, Daphne and Livia. 7 months pregnant Daphne is getting married to a suitable New England upper crust young man. And the shenanigans that go with a wedding weekend are the backdrop to this novel. I don't relate to the characters although I understand them.

I believe this is the author's debut novel from 2002. And it's a lovely look at family--function and dysfunction. I found it hard to relate to Kate, but all the other characters resonated with me. Moyes has become one of my favorite authors, this debut is a wonderful exploration of mothers and daughters and the many forms that love takes.

From the publisher:

Estranged from her mother since she ran away from her rural Irish home as a young woman, Kate swore an oath that she'd always be a friend to her daughter, Sabine. But history has a way of repeating itself, and Kate now faces an ever-widening chasm between herself and her daughter. With Sabine about to make her own journey to Ireland to see her grandmother, Kate is left wondering how they ever made it here, and what she can do to close the gap between them.

For Joy, seeing her granddaughter is a dream come true. After the painful separation from Kate, she's looking forward to having time with Sabine. Yet almost as soon as the young woman arrives, the lack of common ground between them deflates her enthusiasm. And when Sabine's impetuous, inquisitive nature forces Joy to face long-buried secrets from her past, she realizes that perhaps it's time to finally heal old wounds.

A fluffy confection of a novel. There really isn't much to complain about because there's not much to it. It's fun. I would say it's a YA.

From the publisher:

An irresistibly sweet romance between two college students told from 14 different viewpoints.

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together.

Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it.

************************************************* Title: Still Life With BreadcrumbsAuthor: Anna QuindlenPages: 272 p Published: January 2014 My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I really liked this book. It's the story of Rebecca Winter, age sixty, reflecting on her life as a once-renowned photographer. Her life is at a crossroads and she takes an unexpected path. Although I am not at all like Rebecca, I understand her. I appreciated how the setting caused her vulnerability. How a somewhat jaded and formerly feted woman is lost in the wilds. I liked the secondary characters, too. And I'm not sure which romance I appreciate more--the dog, Jack, or Jim.

This is the June selection for my book group and I'm looking forward to discussing it. There's much to talk about.

This confection of a novel is somewhat predictable. Although I knew what was going to happen, how it all happened was charming.

Dylan is a playboy shallow jerk and his transformation is predictable but cute. Spring, the sweet three-year-old girl who invades his life is a delightful character. Some of the secondary characters did not behave as the reader would expect, which was convenient for the plot and somewhat unrealistic, but again, they were fun folks.

From the publisher:

Dylan Hunter has it made. At 29, he has great friends, a huge job, all the women he can handle, and no commitments. A public relations executive, Dylan has dashed up the ladder of success by mastering the art of the spin - bending the truth to his and his clients' needs. But when a former lover steps back into his life with a three-year-old girl by her side (no, she's not his), Dylan suddenly finds himself in a place he can't spin himself out of. And when Dylan unexpectedly becomes the child's sole guardian, he finds himself to be like a circus performer trying to keep all of his spinning plates from crashing to the ground. In what seems like a blink of the eye, Dylan Hunter's life has changed completely...whether he's ready for it or not.

I love historical fiction that fleshes out the time period in question. I admit I haven't studied much about indentured servants other than the basics--that it was slavery with a time limit, time was relative--so I was interested in this novel. I didn't realize it is part of a trilogy with the first being The Widow's War. The only plot thread I didn't enjoy was the Sam Adams influence.

From the publisher:

Brought to New England and bound into servitude to pay her father's debts, Alice Cole, at fifteen, can barely remember the time when she was not a servant to John Morton. His daughter, Nabby—only three years older than Alice—begins as Alice's childhood companion, but when Nabby weds, she becomes Alice's mistress. But the marriage is not what it appears, and Alice, endangered by its storm, defies her new master and the law, and escapes to Boston. Impulsively stowing away on a ship to Satucket on Cape Cod, Alice believes that she has left her old life and her secrets behind. Yet in a time of unrest and uncertainty, as political and personal stakes rise and intertwine, she discovers that freedom, friendship, trust, and love each have a price far greater than she ever imagined.

Two little girls banished from a neighborhood birthday party take a wrong turn down an unfamiliar Baltimore street--and encounter an abandoned stroller with an infant inside. What happens next is shocking and terrible, and three families are irreparably destroyed.

Seven years later, Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller, now eighteen, are released from "kid prison" to begin their lives over again. But the secrets swirling around the original crime continue to haunt the parents, the lawyers, the police--all the adults in Alice and Ronnie's lives. And now another child has disappeared, under freakishly similar circumstances ...

I didn't care for many of the characters, the most interesting one was Helen Manning, Alice's mother. There were a lot of shifting perspectives which helped move the plot along. It was a quick read.

Because I'm around teenagers all day, I could totally relate to this book. It's not quite what I expected a teen novel about cancer to be like. Which is part of its quirky charm. But it's irreverent and laugh out loud funny. I think I enjoyed the creative swearing as much as the story.

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): Me: My name is Greg Gaines. I am seventeen. I am the one who wrote this book. My physical appearance is unsatisfactory, and there is probably a fungus eating my brain. I'm not even sure I'm a human. Earl: Earl Jackson is the only person is even sort of my friend. We make mediocre films together. Werner Herzog is our biggest influence. Earl is generally filled with violent rage. Dying Girl: During my senior year, my mom forced me to become friends with a girl who had cancer. This brought about the destruction of my entire life.

This was definitely a summer read--light, interesting, predictable, and well-written.

From the publisher:

After years covering murders, disasters, and tragedy for Los Angeles TV news, Kate Bradley knows that violence and cruelty are everywhere and that good is hard to find. When she is assigned to cover a story about ten people who have each found $100,000 in cash on their front porch, Kate is intrigued by the anonymous Good Samaritan, dubbed Good Sam, who is behind it all.

As interest in the extraordinary gifts sweeps across the country, Kate finds the elusive Good Sam and her exclusive interview with him thrusts her into the national spotlight. Even as his message captivates viewers and wins ratings, Kate suspects he may not be all he claims to be and that the real Good Sam is still out there.

Searching for answers, Kate unravels the powerful and unexpected reason behind the mysterious cash gifts and the true identity of Good Sam becomes the biggest surprise story of her career, turning her personal and professional life upside down.

************************************************* Title: The Way Life Should BeAuthor: Christina Baker KlinePages: 288 p Published: July 2007My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Although this book is set in winter, it was quite a beachy read.

From the publisher:

Angela Russo is thirty-three years old and single, stuck in a job she doesn't love and a life that seems, somehow, to have just happened. Though she inherited a flair for Italian cooking from her grandmother, she never has the time; for the past six months, her oven has held only sweaters. Tacked to her office bulletin board is a picture torn from a magazine of a cottage on the coast of Maine, a reminder to Angela that there are other ways to live, even if she can't seem to figure them out.

One day at work, Angela clicks on a tiny advertisement in the corner of her computer screen—"Do Soulmates Exist?"—and finds herself at a dating website, where she stumbles upon "MaineCatch," a thirty-five-year-old sailing instructor with ice-blue eyes. To her great surprise, she strikes up a dizzying correspondence with MaineCatch—yet as her online relationship progresses, life in the real world takes a nosedive. Interpreting this confluence of events as a sign, Angela impulsively decides to risk it all and move to Maine.

But things don't work out quite as she expected. Far from everything familiar, and with little to return to, Angela begins to rebuild her life from the ground up, moving into a tiny cottage and finding work at a local coffee shop. To make friends and make ends meet, she leads a cooking class, slowly discovering the pleasures and secrets of her new small community, and—perhaps—a way to connect her heritage to a future she is only beginning to envision.

Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive.

It’s a game more twisted than any Detective Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn’t spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn’t believe them.

Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case—with its seemingly random victims—has her baffled. But as more people go missing, nothing will be more terrifying than when it all starts making sense....

What a gripping premise! There were parts that I couldn't put down but there were a couple of parts that were almost preposterous. Anytime the focus was on the victims, I was riveted--the ethical struggle and the aftermath of the choices was compelling. I will definitely read more in this series!

This is my book group's July selection. I feel accomplished to have finished it. Not my favorite genre, toward the end when the fantasy stuff kicked into high gear. There will be a lot to talk about, I'm especially interested to know if my fantasy loving friends enjoyed it. Or if everyone thought it was just way too long.

Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece.

What I liked was the portrayal of Steven's school and school day. And that the story wasn't hokey. I admit I was moved to tears a couple of times. I can't wait to read the sequel.

Growing up on her family’s Sonoma vineyard, Georgia Ford learned some important secrets. The secret number of grapes it takes to make a bottle of wine: eight hundred. The secret ingredient in her mother’s lasagna: chocolate. The secret behind ending a fight: hold hands.

But just a week before her wedding, thirty-year-old Georgia discovers her beloved fiancé has been keeping a secret so explosive, it will change their lives forever.

Georgia does what she’s always done: she returns to the family vineyard, expecting the comfort of her long-married parents, and her brothers, and everything familiar. But it turns out her fiancé is not the only one who’s been keeping secrets….

Now, this is a summer read. A story about a family who loves each other, secrets, and wine! I enjoyed the characters, they were flawed but not cliches. The plot moved along quickly.

My complaint is that the narrative point of view shifted from third person to first person a couple of times, which distracted me. Otherwise, it's a summer read with a variety of plot twists and points to amuse.

************************************************* Title: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess BrideAuthor: Cary Elwes, Joe LaydenPages: 272 p Published: October 2014My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed this as much as I did if I had read it, instead of listening to it. All the narration by the different guests was like being at a big reunion or party. And, of course, all of the back stories about one of my favorite movies is a delight. I like how the book was organized by scenes.

When famed true-crime writer Julian Wells' body if found in a boat drifting on a Montauk pond, the question is not how he died, but why?

The death is obviously a suicide. But why would Julian Wells have taken his own life? And was this his only crime? These are the questions that first intrigue and then obsess Philip Anders, Wells' best friend and the chief defender of both his moral and his literary legacies.

Anders' increasingly passionate and dangerous quest to answer these questions becomes a journey into a haunted life, one marked by travel, learning, achievement and adventure, a life that should have been celebrated, but whose lonely end points to terrors still unknown.

A good, solid read. I would consider it an old-school tale of intrigue and mystery. Not a gripping read but compelling.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

I listened to this book and the narrator was fantastic. There's something about hearing John Green's writing that works for me. His dialogue--the witty repartee and banter is quick. There was one section toward the end that seemed a bit too existential, but that is my only complaint. I loved the cultural references and the use of Walt Whitman's poetry--which seemed familiar to me, because I spend so much time with teenagers.

There are compelling characters, authentic parents, and awesome, if somewhat unrealistic, adventures. The movie is going to be released soon, and I hope they did justice to this book.

Set against dramatic Mediterranean Sea views and lush olive groves, The Rocks opens with a confrontation and a secret: What was the mysterious, catastrophic event that drove two honeymooners apart so suddenly and absolutely in 1948 that they never spoke again despite living on the same island for sixty more years? And how did their history shape the Romeo and Juliet–like romance of their (unrelated) children decades later? Centered around a popular seaside resort club and its community, The Rocks is a double love story that begins with a mystery, then moves backward in time, era by era, to unravel what really happened decades earlier.

I did not anticipate the catastrophic event, at all. I was fully engaged in all of the characters, the families and the guests at the summer resort alike. I think I fell in love with Mallorca! The island is as much a character as any of the people are. Going back and forth through time reconfigures the story, kept me interested and gave much background to the whys of character behavior.

Ten years ago, Quinn Barton was on her way to the altar to marry Burke Morrison, her high school sweetheart, when something derailed her. Rather, someone derailed her--the Best Man, who at the last minute--and with shocking revelations--begged her to reconsider the marriage. Quinn, stunned, hurt, and confused, struggled between ignoring what she was told--or running away.

She chose running. With the Best Man. Who happened to be Burke's brother, Frank.

That relationship didn't work either. How could it, when Quinn had been engaged to, in love with, Frank's brother? Quinn opted for neither, and instead, spent the next seventeen years working in her Middleburg, Virginia, bridal shop, Talk of the Gown.

But when the two brothers return to town for another wedding, old anger, hurt, and passion resurface. Just because you've traded the bad guy for the good guy for no guy doesn't mean you have to stay away from love for the rest of your life, does it? Told with Beth Harbison's flair for humor and heart, Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger will keep you guessing and make you believe in the possibilities of love.

Read this while on my vacation trip--lots and lots of fun!

************************************************* Title: The Book Of SpeculationAuthor: Erika SwylerPages: 352 p Published: June 2015 My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I'm not sure if this book is a mystery, a coming of age story, a family saga, or what--but it's good!

From the publisher:

“Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival.

One June day, an old book arrives on Simon’s doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of “mermaids” in Simon’s family have drowned–always on July 24, which is only weeks away.

As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a curse on Simon’s family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to save Enola?”

My book group is going to discuss this and I can't wait--it's got a touch of history, a touch of magic, and a love of books. I liked how the narration switched from present (Simon) to past (The Carnival Log). One of my favorites of the year.

I read this in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Very clever premise--Harriet is a self-proclaimed geek who wants to reinvent herself and gets the opportunity to when she is scouted to be a model while begrudgingly going with her best friend, Nat, to a modeling event. Harriet's mishaps are funny and I could relate to them. The secondary characters are vivid and lively. I enjoyed this and can't wait to recommend it to my nieces.

************************************************* Title: The Kidney Hypothetical: Or How to Ruin Your Life in Seven Days Author: Lisa Yee Pages: 272 p Published: March 2015 My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I loved this book and can't wait to talk to my students about it. It's a coming of age story that takes place in one week, triggered by an innocent hypothetical question. The characters are vivid and charming, although it took me a while to warm up to Higgs, the main character.

From the publisher:

Higgs Boson Bing has seven days left before his perfect high school career is completed. Then it's on to Harvard to fulfill the fantasy portrait of success that he and his parents have cultivated for the past four years. Four years of academic achievement. Four years of debate championships. Two years of dating the most popular girl in school. It was, literally, everything his parents could have wanted. Everything they wanted for Higgs's older brother Jeffrey, in fact.

But something's not right. And when Higgs's girlfriend presents him with a seemingly innocent hypothetical question about whether or not he'd give her a kidney . . . the exposed fault lines reach straight down to the foundations of his life. . . .

The 8th in the series finds the duo in fine form--this is one of the best of the series!

From the publisher:

When a mysterious case of illegal cactus smuggling comes to their attention, Chet and his human P.I. companion, Bernie Little, find themselves in a prickly situation in this eighth book in the New York Times bestselling mystery series.

In the latest entry in the immensely popular Chet and Bernie mystery series, Private Investigator Bernie Little and his canine companion Chet return home to encounter some alarming developments. First off, Bernie's wall safe normally hidden behind the waterfall picture in the office is gone, and with it Bernie's grandfather's watch, their most valuable possession. And next door, old Mr. Parsons is under investigation for being in possession of a saguaro cactus illegally transplanted from the desert. Bernie and Chet go deep into the desert to investigate. Is it possible that such a lovely old couple have a terrible secret in their past?

Chet and Bernie discover bad things going on in the wilderness, far worse that cactus smuggling, and all connected to a strange but innocent-seeming desert festival called Arrow Bright. They unearth leads that take them back to a long-ago kidnapping that may not have been a kidnapping and threaten a ruthless and charismatic criminal with a cult following, a criminal who sees at once what Chet and Bernie mean to each other and knows how to exploit it.

This was a marathon listen--clocking in at more than 20 hours. That might be why I didn't love it. Three sections and the second section dragged on. I loved the researched historical period. And the house is almost a character, too.

From the publisher:

It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even servants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.

With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the "clerk class", the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Frances's life - or, as passions mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.

I laughed and cried with this book. As someone who struggles with mental illness--Dysthymia and OCD--I would say this book is intense; it is more about the aftermath of accidental death and suicide. So, although I love the book, I caution those who might be sensitive to the themes.

From the publisher:

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel.

Both lead characters, Finch and Violet, are wonderfully crafted. Secondary characters are realistic, too, especially the high schoolers. The parents are somewhat cliche, but I expected that. I couldn't put it down.

“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”

Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.

After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.
So many solid characters, such lush descriptions of the French countryside, and a love of books! I can't wait to talk about it with my Library book group.

Some real LOL moments and some exploration of how we judge each others' appearance.

From the publisher:

Where Confidence is the New Black. Fed up with always struggling to lose weight, best friends Katie, Ellie, Pixie and Jane start a social club where size doesn't matter. It soon grows into London's most popular club - a place to have fun instead of counting carbs - and the women find their lives changing in ways they never imagined. But outside the club, life isn't as rosy.

Evie Rosen has had enough. She's tired of the partners at her law firm e-mailing her at all hours of the night. The thought of another online date makes her break out in a cold sweat. She's over the clever hashtags and the endless selfies. So when her career hits a surprising roadblock and her heart is crushed by Facebook, Evie decides it's time to put down her smartphone for good. (Beats stowing it in her underwear—she's done that too!)

And that's when she discovers a fresh start for real conversations, fewer distractions, and living in the moment, even if the moments are heartbreakingly difficult. Babies are born; marriages teeter; friendships are tested. Evie just may find love and a new direction when she least expects it, but she also learns that just because you unplug your phone doesn't mean you can unplug from life.

I was afraid that this would turn into a whine-athon of a book, where the main character woes and groans about their shitty plot in life and so forth, but I liked how Evie worked through the situations that she found herself in. Some of the secondary characters could have used a bit more development, like her crazy friends, but others seemed real--like Bette and Jack. Edward was a little too good to be true, but he made my heart pitter-pat for him.

This isn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a mystery novel. What I got instead was a lovely meditation about aging and life. I can't wait to talk about this with my book group!

There are three main story lines: the distant past, the recent past, and the present. Each of the threads contain some level of mystery for Sherlock Holmes to solve.

From the publisher:

It is 1947, and the long-retired Sherlock Holmes, now 93, lives in a remote Sussex farmhouse with his housekeeper and her young son. He tends to his bees, writes in his journal, and grapples with the diminishing powers of his mind. But in the twilight of his life, as people continue to look to him for answers, Holmes revisits a case that may provide him with answers of his own to questions he didn’t even know he was asking–about life, about love, and about the limits of the mind’s ability to know.

Listening to this audiobook is a lot of fun! Amy Poehler is a great story teller. And this series of essays, reflections, and memories is a great listen. She doesn't shy away from difficult times in her life nor does she gloss over her learning curve. I have a lot of respect and admiration for her.

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. It is beautifully written, vivid, and lush. An intriguing story line--teetering on the verge of real life. I can't decide if I enjoyed it.

From the publisher:

English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the field for several years, studying the Kiona river tribe in the Territory of New Guinea. Haunted by the memory of his brothers’ deaths and increasingly frustrated and isolated by his research, Bankson is on the verge of suicide when a chance encounter with colleagues, the controversial Nell Stone and her wry and mercurial Australian husband Fen, pulls him back from the brink. Nell and Fen have just fled the bloodthirsty Mumbanyo and, in spite of Nell’s poor health, are hungry for a new discovery. When Bankson finds them a new tribe nearby, the artistic, female-dominated Tam, he ignites an intellectual and romantic firestorm between the three of them that burns out of anyone’s control.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I love dogs. I love how San Francisco is described. I could relate to the characters. The delicate issue of mental health was accurately portrayed. My only criticism is that one character uses foul language and since it's the only foul language, it seems out of place. It's a fast read.

From the publisher:

As a pet bereavement counselor, Maggie Brennan uses a combination of empathy, insight, and humor to help patients cope with the anguish of losing their beloved four-legged friends. Though she has a gift for guiding others through difficult situations, Maggie has major troubles of her own that threaten the success of her counseling practice and her volunteer work with a dog rescue organization.

Everything changes when a distraught woman shows up at Maggie’s office and claims that her dog has been stolen. Searching the streets of San Francisco for the missing pooch, Maggie finds herself entangled in a mystery that forces her to finally face her biggest fear-and to open her heart to new love.

Packed with deep emotion and charming surprises, Dog Crazy is a bighearted and entertaining story that skillfully captures the bonds of love, the pain of separation, and the power of our dogs to heal us.

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

This is such a fun book--lots of text messages, emails, and other forms of communication keeps it fresh.

Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other.

But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).

And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.

7. Sometimes I tell him he’s snoring when he’s not snoring so he’ll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.
61. Chet Baker on the tape player. He was cutting peppers for the salad. I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man’s children.
67. To not want what you don’t have. What you can’t have. What you shouldn’t have.
32. That if we weren’t careful, it was possible to forget one another.

Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.

Oh--book #4 in the Fox & O'Hare series was a blast! Still the snappy dialogue and very fun shenanigans!

From the publisher:

Nicolas Fox is a charming con man and master thief on the run. Kate O’Hare is the FBI agent who is hot on his trail. At least that’s what everyone thinks. In reality, Fox and O’Hare are secretly working together to bring down super-criminals the law can’t touch. Criminals like brutal casino magnate Evan Trace.

Evan Trace is running a money-laundering operation through his casino in Macau. Some of his best customers are mobsters, dictators, and global terrorists. Nick and Kate will have to go deep undercover as high-stakes gamblers, wagering millions of dollars—and their lives—in an attempt to topple Trace’s empire.

It’s a scam that will take Fox and O’Hare from the Las Vegas strip, to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu’s North Shore, and into the dark back alleys of Macau. Their only backup—a self-absorbed actor, a Somali pirate, and Kate’s father, and an ex-soldier who believes a rocket launcher is the best way to solve every problem. What could possibly go wrong?

I read Me Before You in 2013 and I still insist it's one of my favorite books. I was a bit nervous to know the author was working on a sequel. I shouldn't have been nervous. I couldn't put it down!

From the publisher:

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

A charming book centered around a bookstore. I liked it but didn't love it. Knowing it's the author's first book, I'll try more.

From the publisher:

Impressionable and idealistic, Esme Garland is a young British woman who finds herself studying art history in New York. She loves her apartment and is passionate about the city and her boyfriend; her future couldn’t look brighter. Until she finds out that she’s pregnant.

Esme’s boyfriend, Mitchell van Leuven, is old-money rich, handsome, successful, and irretrievably damaged. When he dumps Esme—just before she tries to tell him about the baby—she resolves to manage alone. She will keep the child and her scholarship, while finding a part-time job to make ends meet. But that is easier said than done, especially on a student visa.

The Owl is a shabby, second-hand bookstore on the Upper West Side, an all-day, all-night haven for a colorful crew of characters: handsome and taciturn guitar player Luke; Chester, who hyperventilates at the mention of Lolita; George, the owner, who lives on protein shakes and idealism; and a motley company of the timeless, the tactless, and the homeless. The Owl becomes a nexus of good in a difficult world for Esme—but will it be enough to sustain her? Even when Mitchell, repentant and charming, comes back on the scene?

I had no clue what to expect, other than I kept seeing a lot of buzz about it--I hadn't even read the full description of it. I'm glad I listened to the audio version because I would have stumbled over the names. I was charmed and delighted. I chuckled and I teared up. I was completely engaged by Ove and his story.

From the publisher:

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

This quirky book defies description. Is it a romance? An adventure? A dark fairy tale? A mystery? It's a mash up of all of these.

The hero, Lucien "Lucy" Minor, is a puny young man from a village of giants. He's unmotivated with no ambition but accepts a position as assistant to the chief steward, or majordomo, of a large household. While Lucy finds himself in absurdly dark situations, surrounded by peculiar characters, the dialogue is matter-of-fact and polite.

From the publisher:

Lucien (Lucy) Minor is the resident odd duck in the bucolic hamlet of Bury. Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, he is a compulsive liar and a melancholy weakling. When Lucy accepts employment assisting the majordomo of the remote, forbidding castle of the Baron Von Aux he meets thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and a puppy. He also meets Klara, a delicate beauty who is, unfortunately, already involved with an exceptionally handsome partisan soldier. Thus begins a tale of polite theft, bitter heartbreak, domestic mystery and cold-blooded murder in which every aspect of human behaviour is laid bare for our hero to observe. Lucy must stay safe, and protect his puppy, because someone or something is roaming the corridors of the castle late at night.

Sophie Honeywell always wondered if Thomas Gordon was the one she let get away. He was the perfect boyfriend, but on the day he was to propose, she broke his heart. A year later he married his travel agent, while Sophie has been mortifyingly single ever since. Now Thomas is back in her life because Sophie has unexpectedly inherited his aunt Connie's house on Scribbly Gum Island -- home of the famously unsolved Munro Baby mystery.

Sophie moves onto the island and begins a new life as part of an unconventional family where it seems everyone has a secret. Grace, a beautiful young mother, is feverishly planning a shocking escape from her perfect life. Margie, a frumpy housewife, has made a pact with a stranger, while dreamy Aunt Rose wonders if maybe it's about time she started making her own decisions.

As Sophie's life becomes increasingly complicated, she discovers that sometimes you have to stop waiting around -- and come up with your own fairy-tale ending.

This description sounds a bit fluffier than the novel actually is. It's more literary fiction than a typical Chick Lit novel (and trust me, I've read a ton of Chick Lit!) There's an element of mystery mixed with some whimsical ideas. It took me a while to figure out that the titular anniversary is not for a wedding but for an event. Then it clicked for me. I liked it. The author hasn't disappointed me!

The author was gracious enough to send me a copy of this novel. And I can't wait to read more of her books.

It's a rom/com for the modern age. And a sweet story. I loved reading about all the ridiculous dates Lucia goes on. I didn't like the present tense used in the story telling technique. But that's my only complaint.

From the publisher:

City girl Lucia is having trouble finding a man. With a few nudges from her friends, she decides to try out Chat Love, an online dating service for New Yorkers. Hilarity ensues with one disastrous date after another…where do these men come from? Mars? Certainly not Manhattan! She finally meets someone from work who is almost perfect, but decides to move on as he’s still seeing other women. She keeps in contact with a man named Jack on the Chat Love site. Could he be the one? What about her love interest at work? Just like the lovable cast of characters from Sex and the City, Lucia is Carrie, a stylish woman who has found her “Mr. Big” but can’t seem to get him to commit. Danni is Samantha, who loves to have fun and is wild and promiscuous. Autumn is Charlotte, desperate to meet the right man and settle down. Skyler is Miranda, level-headed and quick to offer advice. Will these ladies ever find love? Will Lucia find her man? Chat Love will give you something to talk about!

This is the third installment of JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike series. It is the darkest yet, gritty and violent. I was so engrossed in the complex story that the nasty vulgarities didn't bother me, and they usually do. Cormoran and Robin Ellacott, his detecting partner, are even further developed and I want them to be my friends.

Anything I say will include spoilers--so I'll just say the ending left me with my jaw hanging open, demanding MORE!

From the publisher:

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them . . .

A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, Career of Evil is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives. You will not be able to put this book down.

Claire “Neely” O’Neil is a pastry chef of extraordinary talent. Every great chef can taste shimmering, elusive flavors that most of us miss, but Neely can “taste” feelings—cinnamon makes you remember; plum is pleased with itself; orange is a wake-up call. When flavor and feeling give Neely a glimpse of someone’s inner self, she can customize her creations to help that person celebrate love, overcome fear, even mourn a devastating loss.

Maybe that’s why she feels the need to go home to Millcreek Valley at a time when her life seems about to fall apart. The bakery she opens in her hometown is perfect, intimate, just what she’s always dreamed of—and yet, as she meets her new customers, Neely has a sense of secrets, some dark, some perhaps with tempting possibilities. A recurring flavor of alarming intensity signals to her perfect palate a long-ago story that must be told.

Neely has always been able to help everyone else. Getting to the end of this story may be just what she needs to help herself.

I love the premise of this book. But it tried to be too many books--historical mystery, magical realism, new romance, a starting over story.

I wanted to love this novel. It was on a lot of "Best of" lists. Unfortunately, I'm kind of "meh". I didn't connect with the characters and because it's a character-driven novel, I missed the boat. The writing was solid and the atmosphere was rich. There just wasn't enough action for me. I didn't love it.

My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. Each new settlement asks for a new journal, and so this Book of Shadows begins.

In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: the Warlock Gideon Masters, and his Book of Shadows. Secluded at his cottage in the woods, Gideon instructs Bess in the Craft, awakening formidable powers she didn’t know she had and making her immortal. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.

In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life for herself, tending her garden and selling herbs and oils at the local farmers' market. But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories--and demons—long thought forgotten.

I had high hopes for this book but was kind of let down. I wanted it to be more--more magical, more fantastic.

What a great book about body image, growing pains, true friendship, and first love. I can't wait to talk to my students about it.

From the publisher:

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . . until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

This book took me by surprise. Filled with status updates, emails, and text messages that are witty and wise, I was totally charmed. None of the characters were predictable or cliche. Although, I did figure out the reveal (I won't spoil it).

From the publisher:

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it. When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.

This might be the type of book that grows on me the more I think about it. It's historical fiction, based on a true unsolved mystery. I eyeball read it and listened to it. Because there is so much music in it, listening to the songs made them come alive; when I read the songs they were just words. And there is quite a bit of French in the book, it's almost bilingual! Usually I don't mind books that go back and forth in time, but in this instance, because the time frame is only a few days, I found myself confused about the sequence of events.

From the publisher:

Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead.

The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice--if he doesn't track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers, and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women, and damaged children. It's the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts.

A festive short story featuring Chet and his human sidekick, Bernie. I loved it!

From the publisher:

He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. This year, jolly old St. Nick knows Bernie has been sleeping on preparations for a special Christmas celebration with his son Charlie. Enter Plumpy Napoleon, fresh from a short stint in prison, to save Bernie from the naughty list. Plumpy calls his latest business plan “Santa 365.” For a small fee (that only gets bigger), he’ll fill your life with holiday cheer, including elves, a festive party, gifts, and even a Christmas tree delivered right to your front door. Bernie signs on for the full yuletide experience. But after the blowout holiday bash, Bernie and Chet the dog discover one of Santa’s helpers helped himself to more than Christmas candy. The intrepid duo sets out to find the sticky-fingered perp and reclaim the stolen goods. Add in a surprise visit from Bernie’s mom, two elderly sisters seeking their own brand of justice, and an elf with a stocking full of secrets, and you have a Christmas mystery that only Chet and Bernie could possibly unwrap.

This is the 10th installment of the Passport to Peril series. It's a cozy mystery series featuring a traveling group of senior citizens and their intrepid tour guide cum sleuth. So much fun to travel the globe with them!

From the publisher:

It's Oktoberfest and the globetrotting Iowa seniors are sharing their Sounds of Music adventure with several oompah bands whose dream of performing in a famous German beer hall is about to be realized. But when a deadly relic from wartime Munich rains disaster on the group, their dreams are shattered—until an unlikely guest offers them new hope.

The tour hits a sour note when tragedy strikes a guest who knew the musicians' most guarded secrets. Was the death an unfortunate accident or something more sinister? As the group travels from the beer tents of Munich to the fairytale castle of Mad King Ludwig, Emily strives to restore harmony. But with the situation escalating out of control, could the gang be looking at a terrible end to their German interlude?